Poetry Woes No more!!!!

I was talking to Jenny about CW's Poetry program and how difficult I thought it was. I told her how I just was not getting it. I was reading the lesson every night and then trying to explain and present it the following morning. The peeps were really enjoying it and were even explaining things to me. Jenny's feelings were quite the opposite. She thought it was simple and was hoping it would increase in difficulty as her girls were finding it easy. Jenny is a very smart lady. I want to be like her when I grow up. She may not know it, but the challenge was set. I had to understand this poetry thing and fast. Not in a competitive way, but rather I wanted to understand it like she was understanding it.

We are on Week 7 and I think I finally get it!!! What did I do different? Well two things really.

1. I told myself I could do this despite having never really studied any kind of poetry.

I had convinced myself that since I never studied poetry formally and what little I have read I had not really understood (I guess you should start with good poetry and not Papa Peep's lame college professor's stuff) I was just not meant to understand it. I convinced myself poetry was just weird. I had to get over it!

2. I started keeping a notebook myself and doing the exercises myself.

Doing the exercises myself got me to understand the difficulties and how since I was stuck I had to figure another way to explain it.

Believe me these two realizations have made all the difference. This week has gone so much better. We started on Monday with Week 5 (remember me telling you I was behind....you believe me now), Day 3. We managed to do both Day 3 and 4 on Monday because we were having so much fun.

Here are our Imitations:

The maid of books
She found some hooks
All on a summer's day.

The Snook of books
He ate the hooks
And downed them straight away

The Cook of books
Called for the hooks
And smacked the Snook full sore

The Snook of books
Coughed up those hooks
And vowed he'd eat no more.


The Duch of Earl
She found a pearl
All on a summer's day.

The Son of Earl
He took the pearl
And hid it far away.

The Duke of Earl
Called for the pearl
And whipped the son full sore.

The Son of Earl
Brought back the pearl
And never took it no more.

We have also managed to do all of Week 6 yesterday. Here is a sampling of our work there.

There was a Knight, a most distinguished male
Who from the day was first told this tale

O, Sam the Cat! With cunning strolled the house
Lest far too old to chase that mangy mouse


My mom a great and inspiring woman
Who from the very time she first began
To care for us was wonderous and kind
She truly is to be admired and adored.

My favorite collective effort came today when we each took a pair of couplets to imitate and then put them together for the following poem...

A Wolf who stole a sheep when light
From out a flock was in his flight
To take it home. A Lion went
And snatched the sheep. With rage spent
The Wolf stood well aside and yelled
"Unfair! It's mine!" The Lion held
In mockery, "So you say
You got it then all in a day?"

The green was Middle Peep's contribution; the orange was my contribution , and the purple was Oldest Peep's contribution.Thanks for letting us share. CW Poetry rocks!!!!

Poetry update

This week the peeps had to write an iambic poem that followed the da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM meter.

Well, Oldest Peep explained what that meant and then we got to work. She was not feeling well so her effort was minimum but I thought not too bad. Perhaps we will redo this when she feels better. I should look ahead to see if we get to do this skill again.

A tree is yellow today

The grass is blue today

The sky is purple today

The sea is pink today

Middle Peep's iambic poem:

A car is very fast

It must not get in last

A rock is very slow

Try not to stub your toe

I wrote one as well but oldest peep only copied half of it and the mama brain doesn't remember

the last two lines. Here goes:

In fall we like to play

A leaf is friend to me.

Have I mentioned how much we are enjoying CW's Beginning Poetry?

Another Poetry Moment

We finished our model for this week. I really need to find a rhyming dictionary that we can all use. Something comprehensive (for the olders) but not overwhelming (for the baby).

Here is Baby Peep's rendition of Mary Had A Little Lamb

Jerry had a little plan

Its code was smooth as Pip*

Everywhere that Jerry went

The plan was sure to flip

Jerry had a little plan

Its size was big as a ship

Everywhere that Jerry went

The plan was sure to slip

*he did have some help

Together they worked on their rendition of Birthdays by Maud Keary

Christmas by The 3 Peeps

When Christmas comes we always stock

Our tree upon the beautiful floor

And carefully we watch the clock

Each present opened to the core

How great to think Christmas will be

When we shall always soar one more

To all those gifts which are gradually

Building up the housekeeper's chore

This has really stretched them and me. We really are enjoying it. I am learning all sorts of poetic terms and Oldest Peep (she did a poetry class once upon a time) keeps correcting me when I get meter and foot mixed up. I love it.